Trick or Treat Sweetheart
by amgglekim
Summary: An example for amgglekim's Halloween Contest*A fluffy treat for Halloween. What happens when Bella and Alice plan a special surprise for Edward? How does that work when his birthday is in June? There's something special this month that he doesn't remember


**Trick or Treat Halloween Contest**

**Trick or Treat Sweetheart  
**

**amgglekim**

**Type of story: A Fluffy Treat**

**Character type: (slightly OOC)**

**Story type: (Human)**

**POV: (mixed)**

**If you are interested in becoming a part of this contest, please contact:**

**kimberbaby (at) yahoo (dot) com **

**If you would like to see all the stories that a part of this contest visit**

**amgglekim's profile page**

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Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters. I am just grateful that she allows us to play with them once in awhile.

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**_A/N: This is a sample story for my new Halloween Contest! Visit my profile page for all the details!_**

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BPOV

"Alice, c'mon… You can't be serious that this is my costume for tonight."

"Isabella Masen, I'm disappointed in you. Yes, that is a gorgeous costume, and it fits perfectly with the theme for tonight."

I stood there gazing at the decadent Old Hollywood style gown with a secret grin. I adored this dress and Edward wouldn't be able to keep eyes in his head when he saw me in it. I just refused to let my best friend know how much I loved it. I couldn't let her get off too easy or she would be shopping for me constantly.

The deep green satin glistened slightly in the light of my bedroom. The gorgeous bustier dress had a square neckline and a long slim skirt that had a trumpet flair hem that bubbled out… a black ribbon belt adorned the waist of the dress and Alice had paired it with my black dancing heels and a pair of elbow length black gloves.

This dress just screamed Old Hollywood style and with the surprises we had in store for my husband, I just knew this would be a Halloween he would never forget. He always insisted that birthdays were for kids and never allowed me to do anything to celebrate his special day beyond us going out for dinner and a fancy new piece of lingerie. This year, Alice and I had schemed and pulled strings until we had the perfect cover.

We were hosting a huge Halloween masquerade ball this year as a delayed surprise party for Edward's 42nd birthday. An odd birthday to celebrate, but it was 40 years since he had been adopted by Carlisle and Esme, so the October date meant something to the Cullen family, Edward just didn't realize how much. He of course thought it was a charity event for the hospital and no one in his family bothered to correct him.

The theme was centered on a USO dance. We had pulled in all the favors we needed and even Michael Buble was scheduled to appear.

"Bella, are you serious?" My pixie like friend asked with a slight quiver in her voice. "You really don't like the dress?"

I burst out laughing at my friends pout. She knew I loved it; she just was waiting for me to admit to it. She wasn't waiting patiently either I might add.

"Alice, I love this dress. Vera Wang couldn't have made me a better dress than this. You are an amazing designer and an even better friend and sister. It is identical to the one she was wearing in that photo…what would I do without you?"

Alice laughed as she engulfed me in a hug.

"You would probably show up to the ball tonight in a pair of ripped jeans and your PTA sweatshirt. It's an okay look for the grocery store Bella, but a ball? Never."

She laughed again as she shuddered at the thought of my daily wardrobe choices. Alice and I were sisters in just about every way, and we never added the "In-Law" to the end. I knew she loved me, but I also knew she would never understand how Gucci and Chanel were just not practical when raising 5 children under the age of 10 either.

"Alright Bella, lets get this show on the road. Shower… now."

EPOV

Bella, Alice and pretty much every other woman in my life had been working non-stop on some masked ball for Halloween. I knew that I had two simple jobs today, well three actually.

The first was to make sure I dropped the kids off at Sam and Emily's over in La Push. Emily had just had a baby and they decided that they would have a Halloween bonfire and keep all the kids overnight to give the other adults a chance to enjoy their night without worrying about getting home to relieve the babysitter. The second job I had today was to head over to Charlie's and obey whatever directions my sister Alice had left for me with my costume for tonight. I had no idea what that little pixie was up to, but I knew better than to disobey. The unofficial thing I needed to get done today was probably the most important… stay out of the way.

I knew that when Alice threw a party, she went all out and the last thing I wanted was to get in the way of the pixie when she was on the war path. I chuckled to myself as I pulled up to Charlie's and thought gratefully that I would be able to spend the afternoon watching college ball and talking with my father in law. Bella would be in the process of being plucked, teased and tortured until the very last minute. I knew she always put up a fight when it came to "Bella Barbie" time, but she loved every moment of it.

I walked up the driveway to the front door of my wife's childhood home, as the door opened and Charlie motioned me inside.

"Hurry up Edward, you're going to miss kickoff if you don't get your slow self in here."

"Hey to you too Charlie," I replied as I walked into the house. "Where's Sue this beautiful afternoon?"

"Oh… she's already over at your place. She wanted to help Bella and Alice with the pres… uh… Favors. That's right; she was helping with the favors. She's gonna get ready over there and we're supposed to meet everyone at the hotel. Can I get you a beer Edward? Great. I'll do that; I'll get us a beer."

With that, Charlie walked right past me into the kitchen muttering under his breath the entire time.

Charlie was flustered? What in the world was that about? Something was definitely going on around here. Was he going to say present? Why would a present for someone need to be kept from me? I just shook my head and pretended to watch the game while I sat on the sofa and thought about Charlie's slip.

No one in our family or circle of friends had a birthday in October, of that I was certain. No anniversaries or special dates that I could remember. I vaguely remembered my adoptive parents celebrating Halloween with a huge party every year when I was younger, but that was the only memory of something. Why would Bella need help with a present for someone? It wasn't like my wife to keep secrets, she never could fib to me, not since we were young… that blush of hers always gave her away. What was she up to?

I was startled at how much time had passed while I sat there pretending to watch the game. If we didn't get a move on, we would be late and Bella would be angry with me.

"Charlie," I shook him from his slumber in his favorite recliner. "Charlie, c'mon; we gotta get going or else we'll be late for the ball and neither of our wives will be very happy with us."

"Go on up and get ready Edward… all your stuff is in Bella's old room. I still need to take a quick shower." Charlie replied as he stood and stretched. "No need to get your pants in a bunch, those ladies will be too busy for us until the music starts anyway… you know how they get."

I shook my head at Charlie's laid back attitude… he still wasn't used to being married again, and Sue was probably more understanding of his bachelor type ways than Bella or Alice would ever be.

I took the stairs two at a time as I made my way up to Bella's old room. It surprised me ever time I walked in the door that nothing in that room had changed since our wedding day. There was still a dried rose taped to the mirror over her dresser from her bouquet. On the bed was a large box with a note taped to the top. I smiled as I recognized Bella's handwriting.

_Trick or Treat Sweetheart…_

_Please be a good sport and don't groan too much when you see your costume. I know it's not your style but I swear there is a reason we picked it._

_It was your grandfather's. Not Carlisle's father, but Anthony Masen. __Your__ grandfather… Alice assured me it will be a perfect fit and that once you see everything tonight the costume will make even more sense._

_Love, _

_Your Bella_

I tore the lid off of the box and just stood there staring at the nearly century old serviceman's uniform. I sat on the edge of the bed, astounded. How in the world had Alice and Bella found this? I touched the name tag and let my fingers run over the embroidery. I touched each of the service ribbons as tears sprang to my eyes.

I never thought of myself as adopted anymore. For as long as I could remember it was always Carlisle and Esme. My parents I thought with a sigh. I could barely recall the faces of Elizabeth and Edward Masen, killed in a fire 38 years ago in September. There had been nothing left after that fire. There were no pictures, no memories besides the very few that I could recall. After all, I was only a little over the age of 2 when Carlisle and Esme adopted me as their own.

There was no way that I could wear this, it was the only tangible link I now had with my family. Suddenly Charlie was in the doorway and he just shook his head.

"I told those girls not to spring this on you. Trust them though, this is an amazing gift they found for you, and I think he would be proud for you to wear that uniform tonight. We're celebrating their era, their lifetime and their achievements. Memories aren't meant to be kept in a box Son. Just remember that."

BPOV

I was so nervous waiting for Edward to arrive. Charlie had called Alice from the car saying that he and Edward were on their way. I kept watching the doorway for that familiar bronze hair. What if he didn't like the surprise? What if he was upset with me for keeping the treasures that I found a secret until tonight?

I still remember how disappointed he was that he couldn't join me in Chicago for that book signing. Alice was the only one who knew what I was really up to on that trip, she had told Jasper she was flying to New York for a meeting and met me in Chicago so that we could search for anything related to Edward's birth family.

I had found an obituary for a cousin of some kind online while doing a background search on his family history. I had only planned on looking for some information and creating a family tree for his birthday when I had found the obituary and the resulting notice that the entire estate was to be up for auction. I knew at that moment I needed to fly to Chicago and purchase anything and everything that could belong to Edward's family.

The result of that trip was all around me. Edward would be wearing his grandfather's uniform from WWII. I had dozens upon dozens of pictures of his father's family up through a few months after he was born. They were all in collage frames scattered on tables throughout the ballroom. I had the picture that inspired all of festivities tonight painted in oils and it was displayed near Edward's birthday/adoption day cake. When Alice and I had started this undertaking, Esme came to us with a copy of Edward's adoption papers showing us that his adoption had been finalized on October 30th of that fateful year. Esme laughed with us as she said it was the best treat she had ever gotten for Halloween and the sole reason it had become her favorite holiday.

I saw the flash of bronze curls near the entry to the hotel and I started walking towards my husband. My heart started pounding in my chest and my knees went weak at the sight of him in that uniform; there was no longer any doubt in my mind that I had done the right thing. He was the spitting image of his grandfather. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that I had traveled back in time and was looking at Anthony Masen himself.

"Welcome Home Soldier," I said with a grin.

EPOV

The moment I saw her I felt my heart skip a beat. Bella was absolutely breathtaking in a fitting green gown that skimmed over her curves. The darker fabric made her skin glow like cream and the green in the dress lit up her hair like the stars lit the night sky. Just looking at her made my palms sweat and heart race, it was the same now as it had been since the first day I laid eyes on her in Biology all those years ago.

She looked me up and down almost as if I was on display at a store and she was debating making a purchase. I was half tempted to ask her if I should turn around.

"Welcome Home soldier," I heard her say in her bell like voice.

"Hey Beautiful," I replied huskily. "You haven't seen my wife around here anywhere have you?"

"I do believe I have soldier," my beautiful wife replied with a wink. "Why don't you join me inside and we'll see if we can find her. I do ask that you save me a dance this evening though. I simply can't let this dress go to waste, don't you agree?"

I raised my hand and ran the back of my fingers down her jaw to her chin, reveling in the warmth of her skin. My thumb lightly caressed her full bottom lip as I watched her eyes fill with desire and love. I leaned down slowly and captured her lips with mine as my hand ran slowly down her neck to her arm and then to her waist as I pulled her closer to me. As I felt her slender fingers begin to play with my hair, I ran my tongue across her lower lip and then plunged into her mouth, deepening the kiss. The feel of her satin gloves on my skin and in my hair was one of the most exotic touches we had experienced in our 23 years of marriage. I made a mental note to have her keep them handy with a small grin to myself.

I slowly pulled away from her lips and rested my forehead against hers, just staring into her eyes.

"We can finish this later, we have guests to attend do sweetheart," My Bella said to me with a small smile as she placed her small hand in mine and started to lead me to the ballroom.

"Bells, wait a minute, how did you find…"

"Later Edward," she replied, placing a finger on my lips. "I promise I will explain everything later."

With that we had reached the ballroom doors and I watched my angel take a deep breath as she opened the door. We took three steps into the beautifully decorated room and suddenly the band started to play "Happy Birthday" and everyone in the room stood and started applauding.

I just turned to Bella with a shocked look on my face and raised an eyebrow at her, questioning what in the world she was thinking. She just winked at me and grabbed my hand as she pulled me thru the crowd to the center of the dance floor.

I looked around the room and saw hundreds of people but like beacons of light I could pick out each person that meant the world to me. My children were all at one table with Rose and Emmett's three kids; Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose were standing at a table with my in-laws. Renee and Phil were standing there next to Charlie and Sue. I could see Jake and his wife Nessie, Angela and Ben from high school along with dozens of faces I recognized but couldn't place right now. I turned to my wife in amazement and followed her gaze to where my parents were standing near a podium. My mother beckoned me and Bella over to her; I walked to her giving her a kiss on the cheek as Bella walked to my father and wrapped her arm around his waist.

A waiter came over to us with glasses of champagne and we each took a glass as Bella stepped forward and took the microphone.

"I just want to thank you all for coming to this special celebration. It is not often in our lives that we get to share our journey here on earth with someone as special as Edward is to each of us. If I lived for a million years, I still couldn't imagine anyone else that I would want to spend this time with but him. Many of you know that Edward was adopted by Esme and Carlisle when he was just about two years old. Tonight, we are celebrating not just Edward's 42 years with us, but the 40th anniversary of his adoption by the two people he knows as his parents."

"Tonight started with a simple project. I wanted to merely search out his family history and create a family tree for a birthday present this past June. What I discovered was a treasure trove of boxes and storage bins that were full of pictures, diaries and letters that belonged to Edward's grandparents and his parents as well. Everything you see around you is because of that fateful trip to Chicago where I was able to bring home all of these treats that you see around you. I spoke with Esme, Alice and Rose about how to best give these gifts to you, my beautiful husband and that is when we realized that we could plan the best birthday celebration of all, and trick you by planning it for October around your adoption day instead. You are a shining point of light in our dark skies, and everyone here loves you. Happy Birthday Darling, Happy Adoption day and lastly, Happy Halloween."

With that, my beautiful, exquisite wife lifted her glass to me in a toast as she whispered "I love you".

"I love you too," I whispered back as I raised my glass first to my wife, then my parents and then turned; raising my glass to the extended family and friends around me.

I got pulled away from her as dozens of people descended on me to extend their good wishes for my birthday. It felt odd celebrating my birthday with so much extravagance, especially four months late. I thought to myself that maybe I wouldn't give Bella such a hard time the next time she wanted to plan a small dinner party for my birthday if this is what is going to end up happening.

I stood talking with Alice for a long time as she relayed to me everything Bella had done and gone through to make this day extra special for me. As she showed me the painting Bella had made from a picture of my grandparents on the day they met, I was astounded. Bella looked so much like my grandmother, and the dress she was wearing looked almost exactly the same. It was at that moment that I realized why it was so important to her that I wear this uniform tonight, they had met at a USO dance.

I felt Bella's hand on my arm as she whispered in my ear, "Dance with me Edward?"

I took her in my arms as the band slowly started to play the song from our wedding, "You & I" by Michael Buble. When he himself started to sing, I just grabbed her closer to me as I tried to hide my tears from her.

"Trick or Treat sweetheart," she whispered in my ear.

"Always a treat with you my darling," I whispered back. "My life will always be a special treat with you."

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_**A/N (part two):**_ So what do y'all think? This is an example of a Fluffy Treat. I'm working on examples of a Trick and a Lemony Treat and should have them up over the next couple of days.

If you want to participate in the contest, just send me a PM or an Email that you've posted your story so that I can add it to the C2. Don't forget to add the C2 to your alerts so that you get to read about all the Halloween fun that's coming your way!

Hugs! Kim

PS... to my Missed Connections readers... I am finishing up the next chapter as soon as I post this and it will be with my beta over the weekend. Come heck or high water, y'all will have a chapter on Monday. I know its been forever, but I promise its worth it.


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